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Parents are using GPS tracking in increasing numbers to “watch” their children. The extra pair of eyes provided by GPS systems can be not only a godsend for stressed-out parents, but also a lifesaver. In addition, the elderly are using GPS technology to give their adult children peace of mind regarding their whereabouts and safety. One of the biggest sources of stress for adult children of elderly parents is what will occur to their parents when out and about. GPS vehicle tracker technology has vastly reduced that stress, allowing these adult children to focus on savoring the twilight years of their parents’ lives.

GPS systems are also making long highway trips more manageable. Gone are the days in which people would take out the massive maps, trying to figure out where they were located on a highlighted highway. Now, when traveling, GPS systems can tell you when to turn, calculate the shortest distance, and even adjust for road construction! What was previously only imagined in futuristic cartoons is now a reality of travel. Just as in all technologies that have become ubiquitous, GPS is making life more bearable. Soon, you will hardly be able to imagine life without GPS, just as life before the Internet is nearly unimaginable. By freeing up peoples’ psychic energies from the mundane and stressful, GPS is allowing people to enjoy the richness of their lives more than ever before.

GPS, in the same spirit as other technologies in the information age, is not specific to one select subgroup. Since GPS can serve so many different purposes, people of all different demographics are learning to use GPS for their own purposes. GPS might serve one purpose for one subgroup while serving an entirely different purpose for another. The true beauty of the technology lies in its malleability and its ability to be applied in many different situations. Gone are the days of GPS as a solely upper-class techie phenomenon. People are learning to use GPS not as a toy, but as a tool.

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By Greg Bartlett

Social workers assist persons with developmental disabilities. One of the great challenges faced when working with this population is how to balance safety concerns with the client’s right to be independent. Issues that need to be evaluated are the client’s propensity for wandering/getting lost and also the possibility that a client will be taken advantage of by a member of the community. GPS tracking, combined with continued work with the client, could aid in allowing a client more self-determination in their life.

GPS tracking services have seen a huge increase over the past several years; however there is more this technology has to offer than protecting stolen merchandize. Or rather, it can be used to protect assets that are more valuable than items. As GPS tracking devices continue to become smaller and more discrete they are increasingly becoming a viable option for protecting people.

Currently the literature offered by the companies which offer a GPS tracking service focus on the “things” in our lives, with protecting children thrown in almost as an afterthought. This is missing out on several grew areas for future growth. If on the other hand, these companies chose to introduce new brands into the marketplace they could market to specific segments of the population and improve revenues.

The re-branding of services is necessary, as care-givers want to think of caring for someone, not spying on them. This is the opposition I have received personally, when putting forth the idea of attaching GPS trackers to clients that are prone to getting lost. In many ways, these objections are valid however, I believe that when safety is concerned we have a responsibility to do all that is possible and use any available technology.

It is really about rewriting the marketing literature, as the services and devices currently being offered by these companies would remain largely unchanged. Thus these companies would be creating a new market niche with a minimal investment of capital.

Companies that are looking to adopt the ideas contained in this article would do well to start by targeting state-run institutions. This would serve two functions: 1. Provide lucrative contracts and 2. Set a precedent that the company could use to market to the third party (non-government) agencies. The first company that establishes a foothold within the government in this capacity will have built itself instant credibility and clout when approaching these smaller, local services.

One important consideration prior to embarking on this path is the need to respect these individuals. It is not enough to create a “Child Safe” branded service to be a cover-all solution to person protection. While that is an avenue for specialized attention, products geared towards adults with developmental disabilities should take their status as adults into consideration. A GPS tracking device will meet these needs.

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By Greg Bartlett

GPS tracking devices are readily discussed in conversations about how to locate a stolen car. Something you don’t often here talked about though is the success that can be had when they are used to locate people. This is not Big Brother stuff that is being suggested, it is about being able to locate children or adults who may lose their way and be absolutely clueless as to how to get home.

Imagine a situation where an elderly person with Alzheimer’s goes for a walk or wanders away and then forgets exactly where they came from. They cannot tell anyone because they probably don’t even realize that they are lost. They could wander around aimlessly for a long time and you would have virtually no shot at finding them other than dumb luck. This is a perfect situation where a GPS tracking device could be used to solve a critical situation.

Donald Middaugh is a perfect example of exactly how a situation like this can be avoided. In early December of 2006, he took a walk and lost his way. Not knowing where he was or how to get home, he wandered the wooded area near his home for two days before rescue workers found him. His family was extremely fortunate and they quickly learned their lesson.

They were provided a GPS tracking bracelet by Project Lifesaver and it was immediately put on Donald. Oddly enough, a year later the same situation arose and Donald disappeared once again. The outcome was much different this time because as soon as people realized he was missing, the Sheriff’s office was called and his device provided his exact location. Within one hour, Donald was found and safe back with his family.

This is but one situation where a GPS car tracker was used to find something much more valuable than a car. If you are worried about the cost of these devices, keep in mind that there are plenty of organizations available that will help families to obtain these devices. There is no need for any family to have to experience what Donald’s family experienced the first time around.

Whether a missing person is a child or an Alzheimer’s sufferer, you can only imagine the peace of mind that a GPS tracking device will give any family. While it is always a highly emotional experience to lose someone, knowing that you can have their exact location in a snap can keep the situation under control. There is only one thing that can make this happen and that is a GPS tracking device.

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By Greg Bartlett

Every year, more than 6000 teen drivers are killed because they get themselves into situations they do not have the experience to deal with properly. Often, these teens get themselves into such situations because they sneak off and go to places they should not be without their parents’ permission. Installation of a GPS tracking system in the vehicle that teens use may be enough to deter them from making such excursions. If not, parental tracking of the teens’ whereabouts using GPS tracking can help parents respond to potential problems quickly enough to save their teen drivers’ lives.

When the vehicle is equipped with the proper GPS vehicle tracking device, parents can activate the device when their teens leave home and track their movements the entire time they are gone. All it takes to do this is the GPS device and an internet connected computer. If the vehicle is seen to deviate from the expected course, the parents can contact the teens via cell phone to learn what is going on.

Another bad habit teens may fall into is going to parties where alcohol is served. Often these parties are held in out of the way locations to be away from any adult supervision. Some teens attempt to drive in an impaired condition. Others may not attempt to drive themselves, but will try to stay where they are until the alcohol wears off. Unfortunately, this can lead to medical problems caused by exposure. Parents who use a vehicle tracking device to keep tabs on their teens can locate the vehicle and pick it and their teens up before someone gets injured or killed. In general, this is a justifiable reason to track the teens involved despite the invasion of privacy that parents will be accused of.

Between inexperience behind the wheel, sometime impairment of one’s ability to drive due to foreign substances, and the tendency of teens to tell parents they are going to one destination and end up going elsewhere, an unfortunate number of teens are injured or killed each year in automobile accidents. Some parents have begun tracking their vehicle using vehicle tracking device when their teen drivers are away from home. This tracking may anger the teens from time to time, yet it can save their lives for a variety of reasons. Often teens who know they are being tracked will avoid the types of situations most likely to lead to injury or death because they know that parents will find out.

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Earlier this week a story came over the AP Wire about the number of children and developmentally delayed adults who are left on board school buses each year. According to the experts, these occurrences are not at all unusual, with as many as 75 such incidents happening every year, all over the nation. And you certainly do not want  your school age child to be among that number.

In Milwaukee, a 4-year-old was left on a bus in 25 degree weather, while in South Carolina, girl who is about the same age was left behind a bus when the temperatures swelled to nearly 100 degrees. In Connecticut, another 4-year-old girl with special needs was left on a bus twice in 10 months.

Lawmakers in New Jersey, influenced by the case of a developmentally delayed man in his 20s who spend a New Year’s Eve alone on a bus, decided to take action. The young man was found after 17 hours. The penalty for leaving someone on a bus is likely to get a lot stiffer.

In some of these cases, a bus aide or bus driver had no intention of leaving anyone behind. In others, such as the New Jersey incident that spurred new legislation, the young man was left on purpose because the bus aide wanted to go somewhere else.

Justice in such cases is important, but as crucial as it is to have tough legislation in place for such incidents, it is better to avoid them in the first place.

As a parent, you hope that your school system and its employees will look out for your child, but that does not mean that you are powerless. There is action you can take, such as purchasing a personal GPS tracking device so that you know where your child is. If for some reason your child does not return from school when he or she is supposed to, you will be able to find your child quickly. That way your child will not be subject to someone else’s negligence or absentmindedness.

And although we certainly hope that you never have to use a GPS tracking device because you are unsure of where your children are, be aware that Rocky Mountain Tracking’s knowledgeable tech support team is there if you have questions about how to use your tracking device or need help in an emergency.

If you want to keep track of your little ones, consider the PT-200 Tracking Device.

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One Tennessee school system used funds provided by a federal grant to install GPS tracking systems on a large percentage of its school buses. An official estimated that between one half to three quarts of the buses used by the school system now have GPS tracking devices that work in conjunction with video surveillance cameras.

No matter what kind of fleet of vehicles you have—be it school buses, trucks or limousines, you can use GPS tracking to keep track of your vehicles and know who is where at what time. Being able to manage your fleet with GPS tracking means you will have an accurate record of the driving activity for each vehicle that your employees drive.

You can reduce operating costs because you will be able to monitor driving habits that such as excessive speeding that waste money. Your vehicles will also be subject to less wear and tear when you help your drivers get a  handle on wasteful driving habits.

Officials in Tennessee said that they wanted to do all that they possibly could to keep students safe. And in this day and age you may be thinking that this means keeping them safe on the roads and safe from adult predators…well, it appears that school officials installed the cameras and GPS devices to also keep students safe…from each other.

Sadly, it seems that some of the students are a danger to themselves. It is not clear whether students are fighting with each other or somehow distracting the bus driver, but it is evident that something had to be done. After a number of incidents involving disruptions on school buses, school officials knew they had to do more to keep the peace. They also needed to be able to have more evidence of what may have happened when and where, so they turned to GPS tracking technology.

One article about this new development in the Tennessee school system noted that the GPS tracking systems were not installed to after a number of children were left on the bus by mistake or dropped at the wrong stop.

However, as a parent there are things you can do before this becomes a problem. You can get a personal tracking device to keep up with your child’s whereabouts. Then you will not have to rely on the school system to do this. We would certainly hope that you could trust bus aides and bus drivers to get your child to the correct bus stop, but just in case, a personal GPS tracking device an provide an extra layer of assurance.

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An online article I read mentioned that last week Good Morning America did a story about how some car dealers are installing GPS tracking devices on the cars that they sell to people who do not have good credit. The idea is that this is a preventative measure: the car dealers will be able to easily find the cars in the event that they need to repossess them.

At least one columnist took no issue with this practice, commenting that if a car dealer was going to risk selling a car to an individual with bad credit, they need to have some way to protect themselves.

I do have one question though–Why not install GPS tracking devices on ALL cars then? Yes, experts will tell you that a credit store indicates spending patterns and habits, but one never knows. A person with good credit could also fall on hard times. Even with their good habits, they may find themselves unable to keep up with the expense of the car.

The same columnist, however, did find a thorny issue in this practice–disclosure. Is it fair for a car dealer to install a GPS tracking device on a car? Yes. Is it fair for a car dealer to install a GPS tracking device on a car and not give the buyer any indication that the device is there?

This same issue pops up when parents decide to track their teens driving habits using a GPS tracking device. But in the case of teens and parents, teens are under a parent’s guardianship and parents can use GPS tracking to keep teens out of harm’s way.

It gets a little trickier when we discuss GPS tracking and adults who are buying and selling a product like a car. There are some privacy issues at work here. For the most part a car dealer who installs GPS tracking devices on cars they sell is concerned with asset protection. It is unlikely that they will be snooping to figure out where you are going. But with the surveillance that GPS tracking provides, an unscrupulous care dealer might be able to do just that.

Rocky Mountain Tracking has GPS devices, such as the Smart Track solution that can be activated (and therefore only incur tracking charges) when you need to find a vehicle. Smart Track is a low- cost way to keep up with a vehicle without constantly monitoring it.

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One parent, who also writes for his local newspaper, penned a column stating that as a journalist he has written too many articles about young people having their lives cut short by car accidents. So when one of his teenaged children was recently given a driver’s license he could not help but think on all of those stories he had done on teens behind the wheel in car crashes. As he continued to think, he also remembered all of the times he had driven recklessly when he was a teenager.

All of this thinking about what can when teenager get behind the wheel, led this father to action: he decided to make use of a GPS tracking device to keep track of his son’s driving habits and whereabouts. Don’t get us wrong, we know that getting a driver’s license is a very important rite of passage for teenagers. And they do need to get driving experience under their belts—how else will they learn? At the same time, parents cannot help but be nervous. Teens are fun and energetic, but they also tend to take more risks than adults do. Still, the way the world works, people cannot wait until they are past the teen years to start to learn to drive. This is why parents often decide to use a precautionary measure, such as a GPS tracking device, when they let their teens out on the road.

Auto accidents are the number one killer of teens. Almost 6,000 teens die every year in auto accidents. Teens account for 14% of all motor vehicle accident deaths. 5,288 teens died in motor vehicle accidents in 2005 in the U.S. Crashes are the leading cause of death among teens, accounting for more than one-third of all deaths of 16 to 18 year-olds.

While your teen certainly does not have to be one of these statistics, you do need to recognize the risks involved. Teens often make poor decisions and deliberately seek thrills. And they are even more likely to engage is dangerous behavior like speeding when they have passengers in the vehicle.

Getting a teen tracking device not only helps you to look out for one of your most precious assets–your teen–it also means that you are taking precautions to prevent other drivers from being injured as well.

A GPS tracking device can alert you to unsafe driving behaviors so that you can talk to your teen and take whatever other action you think is necessary.

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It has been documented that the teenage mind, although maturing, has not quite reached maturity. Teenagers, even the most well-behaved teens, are not always good when it comes to calculating risk. Teenagers are known to take more risks than adult drivers. Knowing this as a parent empowers you to do what you can to mitigate any risks your teen might take.

The good thing about having teenagers who are licensed to drive is that you are not obligated to take them everywhere. This frees you from having to play chauffeur. The bad thing is that you have to let go enough to let them take the keys and hit the road. Why not meet in the middle? Let your teens drive, but install a GPS tracking system in the vehicle they drive to give you information on their driving habits and destinations.

Rocky Mountain Tracking wants to partner with parents to provide teen tracking products that allow teen drivers to get driving experience, while giving them the safety net they need. Earlier this year, Rocky Mountain Tracking was named as TeenDriverInsurance.com’s preferred vendor.

RM Tracking has a variety of top quality GPS tracking products for you to choose from, but the one designed specifically for keeping up with adolescent drivers is the RMT Rover. The RMT Rover allows parents to keep track of how fast their teen is driving, if their teen is using a seat belt and it will give you information on where they have driven, in real time.  You can’t get inside their heads, but you can see what they are doing behind the wheel.

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